


fight for your right

by nikkiRA



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Forehead Kisses, Forehead Touching, Getting Together, Link is a bit of an idiot in this, Link is lowkey romantic and highkey awkward, Mutual Pining, There's a lot of forehead action frankly, he can slaughter monsters but crushes?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-04
Updated: 2019-04-04
Packaged: 2020-01-04 22:55:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18353423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nikkiRA/pseuds/nikkiRA
Summary: Link sneaks Zelda into Castle Town during the Festival of the Goddess, a celebration where everyone wears masks, ensuring her anonymity. Featuring carnival games, carnival food, unabashed flirting and the Princess' Sworn Protector being completely obtuse about feelings.Most of the very popular places had a large wait, so they travelled down a few back alleys to search out lesser known ones. Zelda lost a bunch of rupees at a place where you had to choose between three chests, until Link finally pulled her away “before you gamble away half the royal treasury.” (She pinched him for the comment). He tried a game of horseshoes, which he failed at spectacularly (“it’s a good thing it’s not the horseshoe that seals the darkness, or we’d really be in trouble”).





	fight for your right

**Author's Note:**

> TO PAAAAAARRRTTTTYYYYY
> 
> I am so sorry about this title lmao it was my working title but I couldn't think of anything else I hate titles so much why do we need to name things?

It was something she had mentioned months ago, an offhand comment that merited no response. It was just that he had a habit of filing away every single thing she said to him, like each comment was a gift. It had started after she had stopped hating him; he had started hoarding her words and her smiles, in case she happened to change her mind about him again.

She had been observing a bunch of teenagers as they laughed around the castle gates, posing near the statues and trying to get the guards to smile. She had let out a sigh and said, “Sometimes I… I almost wish I could experience that. That anonymity of an ordinary teenager. Even if just for one day.” Then she had turned and given him a smile, and the light from the sun had been behind her, and he had the thought that she could never in a million years be anything except extraordinary. And he had filed the comment away.

Truly, though, he hadn’t had a clear idea of what he could do about it until he remembered the Festival of the Goddess. He got everything prepared before he had even talked to her. If she refused then so be it, but if she agreed he wanted to be ready immediately.

He found her in her study, like usual, and tapped lightly on the door.

She looked up at his knock and smiled warmly at him. Link would have died a hundred deaths for that smile. Some days it felt like he had.

“Hello, Link. Is everything all right?” At his nod she continued, “I’ve been studying the Sheikah Slate again. Did you see all of the pictures Purah took of herself? She’s started calling them ‘selfies’ because they’re pictures of ‘yourself’. She’s not very creative with names, I’m afraid. Did you need something?”

Sometimes he was in awe at how easily some people could talk.

“I’d like to show you something, if you’re not too busy.” He hoped she wasn’t too engrossed in her work. If she were, nothing he did could take her away. Thankfully she nodded and pushed back her chair.

She followed him into her room, where on the table he had laid out three masks. She looked at him, her head slightly tilted.

“Are you putting on a performance? I _would_ like to hear you sing.”

He barely repressed a snort. “Do you remember when you said you wished you could have a day of anonymity?”

She nodded, eyebrows drawing together. He soldiered on, encouraged that she wasn’t uneasy that he remembered such a throwaway comment. “Each year, for the Festival of the Goddess, Castle Town celebrates all night, and almost everyone wears of these three masks. You have to put up your hair, but -- well, no one would know you. If it were really something you thought you might… want to do.”

She picked up one of the masks and examined it. “The three dragons,” she said. The masks covered half the face, leaving the mouth free, with a large snout that protruded out. Link walked over to the table.

“Farosh, Naydra, and Dinraal.” The guardians of the three springs located around Hyrule, dedicated to the goddesses of old. “I didn’t want to be presumptuous, so I brought all three.”

She turned to look up at him and smiled, before picking up the green mask and placing it over his head. Then she picked up Naydra’s mask. “Are you all right with my decisions?”

He nodded.

“You’ll have to wear something else. You’ll be easily recognized in the outfit of the Princess’ Knight.”

“I have another outfit.”

She smirked. “Do you?”

He didn’t answer that. “I told your father that we were going to celebrate the holiday privately so you could pay your respects to the Goddess.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Lying to the King is a hangable offense,” she teased.

“Hang me tomorrow,” he said.

* * *

Castle Town was busy on the best of days, but on Festival day it was nothing short of insane. The crowds were packed so tightly that Link kept a hand on the Princess’ back the whole time to ensure they weren’t separated. He hoped she couldn’t tell how sweaty it was; he missed his gloves.

People barked from every direction; calling out for games or food stalls or cheap souvenirs. Dragon masks were everywhere. He couldn’t stop the hint of pride he felt at the fact that Farosh appeared to be the most popular.

Every time he looked at Zelda, he could just make out her grin.

“Are there always this many people here?” She asked.

“No,” he said. “People come from all over to celebrate here. Temporary stalls are set up in the street for games and food. People come weeks in advance to make sure they get a spot at one of the inn’s. It’s a huge deal.”

She twirled on the spot to look at everything around her. “It’s incredible,” she said in an awed voice. The Princess of Hyrule, amazed at a few crowds. Life was funny sometimes.  “What are we going to do?”

“Whatever you like, Princess.”

“I don’t know what there is to do! And you shouldn’t call me that, people will get suspicious.”

He couldn’t help it -- he laughed. “No they won’t.” At her look, he continued, a blush working its way down his neck. “People will just assume it’s a pet name.”

“Oh!” She was very firmly not looking at him. “How about we try that?” She said, clearly changing the subject, and she took off, as if trying to physically leave the conversation behind her. He didn’t blame her. A princess should never have to consider a man of his rank using cutesy names with her.

He pushed through the crowds, following her bobbing ponytail. He finally caught up to her outside a stall that was selling individual Goddess statues. They were intricately carved and beautifully made. Zelda was in the middle of talking to the man behind the stall, an older gentlemen with kind eyes and a hunchback.

“-- hard to find, or make the trek there. Of course each town has one, but I started these in the hope that folks would start to pray more if they had a statue easily accessible. Hard for an old man like me to make my way to the temple every time I want to pray, see. Figured it must be the same for some people. Course, the proper Goddess statues have all been blessed by the priestess, but I ain’t expecting the princess to come see my old face anytime soon, so it’s the best I got.” Link was half prepared for Zelda to rip off her mask and formally the bless the stall on the spot, but thankfully she refrained, just continued to stand there, utterly enraptured at the man’s words, hands clasped in front of her as if in prayer. “I don’t mean anything bad by it. Way I see it, the Goddess’ll listen to you even if you don’t pray at some fancy shrine.” He suddenly got a far off look in his eyes. “I tell you, though. When I was young, I travelled to the temple on the Great Plateau. Shed real tears at the foot of that statue. Felt like she was really there with me.”

“They’re beautiful,” Zelda said reverently. She reached for her bag. “How much?”

“Oh no, ma’am. I don’t charge. Wouldn’t be right, making money off of prayer. Long as I think you’ll be using it right, giving your proper respects, I give ‘em to anyone. And I got a great feeling about you, miss. Have one, please.”

“But,” she protested, “But you must have put so much time in this! It feels like stealing!”

The man put a statue in Zelda’s hand, closing her fingers over it and resting his hand on hers. “You take it. I’ll sleep well tonight knowing someone like you has one of my carvings.”

Zelda held the statue close to her chest. “Thank you.” She turned as if to leave, but then she turned back. “Do you always have this stall here?”

“Only on festival days. Regular days I’m over by the post office, just me and my old dog. You feel free to stop by. You’ll always be welcome.”

“Thank you,” she said sincerely.

As she tucked the statue gently into her bag, Link muttered, “You’re going back there tomorrow, aren’t you? You’re going to officially bless his statues.”

She looked at him. He wasn’t surprised to see tears in her eyes, despite being largely hidden by the mask. “Yes, I am.” And then she laughed. “I wasn’t expecting to find something so… peaceful here.”

As if some higher power had heard her and felt the need to prove her wrong, some man in the red mask of Dinraal let out a whistle as he stepped in front of them. “Hey beautiful,” he said, voice slightly slurred. “You wanna see my dragon?”

Link reached for the concealed weapon he was carrying, but Zelda put a hand on his arm and steered them away.

“Leave it. We’re meant to avoid calling attention to ourselves.”

He looked back at the asshole, who was laughing with a group of other men. His sword hand twitched.

Castle Town in a nutshell.

“I’ve never been catcalled before,” Zelda said in a strange tone. He looked at her.

“You sound almost happy about it.”

“Certainly not,” she said fiercely. “That anyone would speak to a woman like that without consent is appalling. It’s just… I’ve never been spoken to like that. Thankfully, in that case, but… to be spoken to as a regular woman, with no power. It’s frightening.”

Link wasn’t sure how to reply to that, so instead he just said, “Are you sure I can’t stab him?”

Zelda laughed like it was a joke (it wasn’t) and then slipped her hand in his. “Come on. I want to play some games.”

With his brain only capable of going _!!!!_ repeatedly at her hand in his, all he could was follow.

* * *

Most of the very popular places had a large wait, so they travelled down a few back alleys to search out lesser known ones. Zelda lost a bunch of rupees at a place where you had to choose between three chests, until Link finally pulled her away “before you gamble away half the royal treasury.” (She pinched him for the comment). He tried a game of horseshoes which he failed at spectacularly (“it’s a good thing it’s not the horseshoe that seals the darkness, or we’d really be in trouble”).

It was the lightest he had ever seen her. All of her anxieties about not being good enough, the stress of all the research, the constant threat that hung over their heads… for one glorious day she seemed to cast it all off. She grinned and laughed loudly and teased him. She bought a replica of the “Mystical Gerudo Thunder Helm,” which she was eager to show to Urbosa. He was constantly being dragged in one direction or another, her hand in his or their arms linked as she yanked him through the crowds. He desperately wished he could see her without the Naydra mask, so he could see her smile better, and the way her eyes always sparkled when she found something to be excited about. But the mask was the only thing that allowed her this freedom.

As they were walking he saw an old building that housed his favourite archery game. He had played it often before he became the Princess’ knight; with his proficiency at archery it was a quick and easy way to get rupees.

He dragged her over.

“You _know_ I’m awful with a bow,” she said, as he paid the owner, a nice man named Ryn.

“This is the perfect chance to learn, then.”

She gave him a skeptical look but took the bow he gave her anyway.

“You have to shoot the rupees. Get as many as you can within the time limit. They’ll move, though, so you’ll have to be quick.”

The game started. Zelda drew the bow and fired the arrow into the counter. Link stifled a laugh.

By the end, she had managed to hit just a single green rupee.

“I _told_ you I was bad.”

“Have another game. Free of charge. It’s not often I get someone so bad,” Ryn whispered to Link as Zelda took her place again.

After two misses Link came up behind her. “You have to hold it higher,” he said, adjusting her stance. “Eye level, like this.” Her body in front of him was warm; he could hear her breathing, slightly accelerated, no doubt sped up by the game. His breath hit the back of her neck and she shivered. She must have been ticklish.

With his hands on hers they drew the bow and hit a red rupee.

Zelda let out a huff, stepping away from him. “You do it then,” she said, handing him the bow.

He did. Perfect, except for the ones she had already missed.

“I knew I recognized you!” Ryn said with glee. “Didn’t I ban you before you could bankrupt me?” He laughed and clapped Link on the back. “How are you, Link?”

He saw Zelda tense, and he cursed himself. He shouldn’t have brought her here, where the owner knew him so well. Link had set records at this place. Of course Ryn would recognize him.

Link just nodded and tried giving a realistic smile.

“You’re up at the castle, huh? Nice of them to give you a day off.”

An idea hit him. “Actually they didn’t,” he said, trying to pitch his voice low as if he were sharing a secret. Ryn grinned.

“Guess even knights play hooky, huh?” Link let out a weak laugh. “Who’s your friend then?” Ryn’s eyebrows waggled at Link, who briefly considered the merits of jumping off the Bridge of Hylia instead of standing there and listening to Ryn imply that he was sleeping with the Princess of Hyrule.

“Oh, no, no. This is my, uh. Sister.”

“Your sister?”

“Yes.” Goddess, why could he not think of names anymore? What was a female name? “This is. Linkle.”

“Linkle?” Ryn grinned. “Family name, huh?”

Zelda let out a cough that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. Ryn looked over and smiled.

“Well Linkle, you have very beautiful eyes. More beautiful than even the Princess of Hyrule, I would wager.”

“Nobody has eyes like the Princess of Hyrule,” Link said, before he could even think. Ryn gave him another wink. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Zelda.

“She’s very, uh. Shy. We should be going. Don’t worry about the prize, and don’t tell anyone I was here?”

Ryn made a movement like he was zipping his mouth shut. Link gave him an awkward wave and then pushed Zelda out the door.

As soon as he shut it behind him, Zelda burst out into giggles.

“Of all the female names!”

“I panicked.”

“I have seen you face hordes of monsters without the slightest bit of fear! How could this make you panic?”

“Monsters are easy,” he said, as he lead her back to the centre square. “Monsters don’t make small talk.”

She slipped her hand back into his. He reminded himself that she was only doing this so they didn’t get separated.

“Let’s get something to eat.”

“There’s some weird stuff here,” he told her.

“Weird like how?”

“Like deep fried goat butter. Or Lynel hoof.”

“They do not serve Lynel hoof.”

“They do.”

“You’re lying. You’re lying to the princess, that’s treason, again!” she said, laughing, skipping slightly ahead, pulling his arm up.

“I’m trying to get the whole castle. They do have Lynel hoof, though.”

“Surely it’s not edible.”

“They grind it up. Use it as seasoning.”

She turned around, head tilted. “I don’t believe you.”

He shrugged. “I’ll show you.”

Someone must have pushed her, because she leaned into him as they walked. He didn’t mind.

* * *

They were serving Lynel hoof, although neither of them were brave enough to try it. Zelda tried to goad him into it -- “You’re Farore’s chosen one!” “I don’t think this is what she had in mind.” -- but he didn’t take the bait. They ended up just getting normal mushroom and beef skewers. Zelda put a purple rupee into the tip jar, and they thanked her profusely.

After they had eaten they headed back to town square, where a live band was playing. Zelda tried to tug him into the crowd of dancers, but he dug his heels in.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I never agreed to dancing.”

She didn’t stop tugging at his hand. “I am not above giving you a direct command.”

He snorted as he followed her. “So much for having a day as an ordinary teenager,” he said lightly.

She didn’t seem the least bit apologetic as she guided his hands to her waist, stepping close to put hers around his neck. Again he felt concerned about his sweaty palms; he _really_ missed his gloves.

“This would be nicer without the masks,” she said. Link was barely listening, focusing instead on keeping his breathing even with her so close. “It’s getting dark,” she continued. “I doubt anyone would recognize --”

“I’m not risking it,” he said, in a tone of voice that brooked no argument. She sighed.

“All right,” she said softly, putting a hand on the back of his neck, fingers threading through the hair at the nape of his neck. “You need a haircut,” she said, voice barely more than a whisper. Link thought he might actually die. Her fingers continued to stroke his hair, although she didn’t even seem to be aware she was doing it. She was staring at the fountain, and he could just make out, in the dim light and the mask, that she was biting her lip.

There was a large _boom_ from above them. Zelda immediately spun around, tense, but Link, after steadying her, just laughed.

“It’s nothing bad -- look.” He pointed up, and Zelda looked just in time to see a firecracker explode in the sky, red and blue and green illuminating the sea of people.

She clapped, smiling up at the sky. “I used to watch these from my balcony.”

Link looked around, and then grabbed her hand. “C’mere,” he said, leading her through the crowd and out of the city. He brought them to a hill and climbed to the top before sitting on the ground and taking off his mask. There were a couple more people who had had the same idea, but they weren’t paying attention, and besides, outside of the city the only lights were from the firecrackers far above.

Zelda sat beside him, pulling off her mask. Her face was lit up. Link was pretty sure she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

“Oh, Link,” she said, beaming up at the sky. “This is the most wonderful thing. I can’t thank you enough.”

He wanted to tell her -- gods, so much. That he would have done anything for her. That he knew she could unlock the power that lived inside of her, that he didn’t doubt her for a second. That she was smart and kind and funny, often when she didn’t even mean to be. That she would save them all.

Instead he just shrugged. Nobody threw a party like Castle Town. He was glad she was able to experience it.

He leaned back on his hands and looked up at the sky. As another burst of colour lit up the area, he felt Zelda lean into him.

For one brief moment, he forgot that breathing was necessary for continued survival. Zelda let out a little sigh and relaxed against him, resting her head on his shoulder as she gazed at the sky. If he turned his head he could bury his nose in her hair. The desire was hard to resist. She smelled amazing.

He closed his eyes. He didn’t care about seeing the firecrackers, he had seen them enough times as a child. He closed his eyes and focused instead on her, of her solid presence at his side, of her head on his shoulder and the way the strands of her hair that had escaped from her ponytail tickled against his cheek. For a moment she wasn’t the Princess of Hyrule, and he wasn’t sworn to protect her; they were just two people.

It was a dangerous thought to have in his head, even for a moment. It was the kind of thought that could cause him to turn his head and press his lips to Zelda’s temple.

He felt her tense, and he realized, with complete horror, what he had done.

He pulled away, shifting away from her. “Princess -- Your Highness,” because this was _really_ bad, and he had to show as much respect as was humanly possible. “I am… I shouldn’t have --”

“Did you mean what you said about my eyes?”

“I -- what?”

She was looking at him intently, eyes narrowed, probably about to fire him, at the best, or, or… execute him, probably, at the worst.

“In the shooting gallery. Did you mean what you said, about how nobody had eyes like me?”

What was he supposed to say to that? He couldn’t lie, couldn’t very well say _actually your eyes are pretty average, if I’m being honest._ So he just nodded.

She surged forward and kissed him. He would have been less surprised if she had decked him.

“You can kiss me back,” she said, pulling away slightly.

“Is that a direct command?”

“Yes,” she said, laughing, and so he pulled her back to him.

* * *

Zelda was not happy.

By all accounts she should have been. Last week she had gotten to go to Castle Town to celebrate the Festival of the Goddess the way a regular teenager would, the research into the Guardians was revealing far more than they had initially thought, and, while they were in Castle Town, Link had _kissed_ her. Finally! She had wanted him to for quite a while, now, although admittedly she wasn’t always the best at showing it. She hadn’t thought he felt the same.

But ever since then, Link had been acting strangely. At first she hadn’t thought anything of it; the day after the festival they had returned to Castle Town, to the home of the old man she had met who made such beautifully elaborate carvings of the Goddess statues. He had almost fallen over when he saw her. She had told him that some members of the castle staff had seen his stall at the festival and told her about it, and she had admired his work so much that she had had to go and see for herself. She had blessed him as an official purveyor of the Goddess, so that every statue he made would carry her blessing as a priestess of Hylia. Link had been quiet and distant, but she had thought that he was simply being respectful due to the holy nature of their quest. But when they had returned, he had excused himself to the training grounds for some practice. She hadn’t seen him for the rest of the day, and it was only when she called for him the next day that he came to see her at all. Normally, even if it were just a day she was spending around the castle, or praying in the Sanctum, or on the days when she holed herself up in her study, he always came to see her, to make sure she was all right, to remind her to eat, to bring her favourite tea. When she called for him he came quickly, but when he arrived he knelt and asked her, formally, what she required of him. She had felt foolish, given that the honest answer was that she had just wanted to see him, so she had made up some silly excuse about whether he would be free to to make the pilgrimage to the Spring of Power once again at some point. It was a stupid question, and she half hoped he would point this out -- as her sworn knight, he was _always_ free. But he had simply nodded, asked if there was anything else she needed, and then left.

The next day, she hadn’t called for him at all, to see if and when he came to check on her. But he never did.

She stewed in her anger and her disappointment for a week before she finally broke and once again called him to her. He came promptly as usual, kneeling in the door frame, not looking at her as she sat at the table in her bedroom.

“Get up,” she said, which was possibly not the most princess-like way of putting things, but she was also a teenage girl who was mad at a boy, and that was a pretty universal language that was incompatible with princess speak.

Link did as he was told. She didn’t like that he was standing while she was sitting, so she stood up, too, crossing her arms and glaring.

“You’ve been avoiding me,” she said, voice tight with anger. Link seemed to be looking at a spot just near her shoulder.

“I wasn’t aware you needed me. My apologies, Princess.”

“I didn’t need you! But you --” She took a breath. She needed to be calmer. “You usually check in on me, or bring me tea, or drag me down to supper. You have not done any of that, and you keep kneeling every time you see me, and you won’t look me in the eye. It is an easy assumption to make that you are avoiding me. I would like to know why.”

Link’s sword hand twitched. It was a nervous twitch he had, whenever he was in a situation that made him uncomfortable. It was the twitch that meant _I’d rather be fighting something._

Link ran a hand over his face and then, for the first time in a week, met her eyes.

“During the Festival of the Goddess, I acted inappropriately and misused my position. I apologize for stepping so out of line and will understand if you would prefer someone else take over my position. If not, I promise I will remain strictly professional, and act only in your best interests.”

It was a speech that he had clearly practiced. He said it carefully, enunciating each word and speaking clearly. She had never heard him speak so much; it was that, more than the contents of his speech, that shocked her so much. It was only belatedly that she realized what he was saying.

“Are you talking about the festival in general, or about the kissing?”

Link’s cheeks turned pink when she said the word _kissing,_ which she would have found irresistibly cute if she weren’t so mad at him. He straightened, correcting his posture as he said, “The way I acted that night, but especially during the firecracker display, was improper and unprofessional, and --”

She held up her hand. She was not interested in anymore of these carefully crafted spiels. She had a horrible feeling settling into the pit of her stomach.

“You don’t have to apologize,” she said. “I had _fun_ that night. For the first time in I’m not even sure how long. And I…” Did he think she hadn’t wanted him to kiss her? She was the one who had kissed him first. Did he think she regretted it? “You don’t have to be sorry about the kissing. It was something I wanted very much. It’s…” she summoned her courage. “It’s something I still want.”

She had expected that to ease his mind, but it clearly didn’t, as he continued to stand there tense, sword hand twitching, gaze once again somewhere around her shoulder.

“Your Highness --”

“Stop that,” she snapped. He met her eyes briefly before once again looking elsewhere.

“Princess,” he said instead. “What I did that day was wrong.”

“You didn’t do anything! By the _Goddess,_ Link, I was the one who kissed you first!”

“But I should have put a stop to it. I didn’t.”

Zelda didn’t know much about boys, but she was pretty sure that when a reasonably attractive woman kissed you, you’d have to have a lot of self-restraint to drag yourself away. Link may have been Farore’s chosen, the embodiment of courage and master of the sword that sealed the darkness, but he was also a teenage boy.

“Are you saying you didn’t wish to kiss me?” Had she forced him into it? Had she misread the signs and been too forward, and he had felt like he had no choice but to respond? How do you turn down the Princess of Hyrule? Had she misused her power?

Link let out a shaky breath. “That is… definitely not what I am saying,” and despite everything that was happening she felt relief. “I am saying that I never should have allowed us to get remotely close to that situation. I acted inappropriately.”

“You keep saying that,” she said. She was upset and hurt and she was masking it with anger. “What exactly was inappropriate about it?”

For the first time, Link let his careful emotionless mask slip, and he stared at her like she had grown two heads. “I -- I am your appointed knight. I am supposed to protect --”

She cut him off. “Are you implying I was put _in danger_ because you kissed me? What do you fear could have happened? That I would, would -- would _swoon_ too hard and strain myself?”

Remarkably, the corner of Link’s lips quirked upwards. He coughed and brought his fist to his mouth, but not quickly enough. She put her hands on her hips and glared. “Are you _laughing_ at me?”

Link rubbed at his nose. “I just -- the idea of you _swooning_ at anything,” he said, laughing slightly. Zelda tried to remind herself that she was very angry at him.

“What exactly are you trying to protect me from?”

Link kept clenching and unclenching his fist. Eventually he said, quietly, like he didn’t want her to hear, “Scandal.”

_“I beg your pardon?”_

Link seemed to visibly flinch. “You are the Princess of Hyrule.”

“Yes. I am aware.”

“You should not be… cavorting with. Well. Me.”

“ _Cavorting?”_

Link looked up at the ceiling. She had never seen him so uncomfortable.

“So you are trying to protect my reputation from the big bad castle gossips? Is that it?”

“Why do you say that like it’s a bad thing?”

“Because it is not your job! Your job is to protect me from monsters, and the Yiga, and anyone else who tries to kill me. Not from the gossipy maids. I am used to being talked about. You don’t have to protect me from that. I don’t _care_ what people are saying about me.” That wasn’t completely true, of course. She was only human, and just because she was a princess didn’t mean she had unshakeable confidence. It hurt when she caught people talking about her, of course, but there were always going to be some people who talked behind your back. At least that was what Shayna, her lady-in-waiting said. Shayna was a good girl, younger even than Zelda, shy and sweet. It might have been naive to have faith that she was not one to gossip, but Zelda trusted Shayna. It was Shayna who would tell her, reluctantly, the things that people were saying so that Zelda could be on top of the rumours, so she was aware of what people were saying.

Link shook his head. “It’s my job to protect you from everything,” he said quietly. “It does not matter whether the harm is physical or not.”

Zelda did not know what to say to this. She sat back down, resting her elbows on the table in a way that would have given her etiquette teacher heart failure. She rested her head on her arms.

After a few moments she felt a gentle hand on her arm. She lifted her head to see Link crouching beside her, looking concerned. “Princess,” he said. “I didn’t ever mean to upset you.” He did look genuinely upset. “What happened was a mistake -- please don’t get mad,” he said, when she reared up, “I don’t mean it like that. I just mean…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “The mistake was that I let my personal feelings get in the way of my duty.”

“And what are your… personal feelings?”

He laughed again, in a slightly self-deprecating way. “You have to know.”

“Maybe I just want to hear you say it,” she said, smiling slightly.

Link gave her a small smile. “I shouldn’t. I am --”

“My sworn protector, yes, I know. And as my sworn protector, shouldn’t you be making sure that you remain as close to me as possible?”

Link looked almost scandalized. Zelda couldn’t help but laugh. “Don’t get your virtue all in a twist,” she teased. She reached out and ran her fingers through his hair. He leaned into her touch, his eyes fluttering closed.

Zelda slipped off the chair, kneeling next to Link and pulling him down so that he was kneeling, as well, no longer crouching. His jaw clenched as she cupped his cheek.

“Kiss me again,” she said. Her voice was barely a whisper, and her heart was beating fast. Link opened his eyes. She expected him to resist again, to give her another excuse, but he must have had some internal debate with himself because he reached out to her and pulled her close.

When he had kissed her before he had been careful, gentle, and she had certainly enjoyed that. But there was something to be said about the way he gripped her, hand hard on the back of her head, fingers entwined in her hair, holding her tightly against his body. He was all hard lines and muscles, and he kissed her hungrily, like he couldn’t get enough. Zelda pushed at him, and he leaned back, sitting on the ground and pulling her into his lap. She wrapped an arm around his neck and placed her other hand on his chest, feeling the way his heart was beating so rapidly.

He pulled away, resting his head on her shoulder, breathing hard and pressing his lips to her neck and jawline, making her shiver. His hand was still in her hair, holding tight. She gripped at his tunic.

He pulled back and looked at her, tucking her hair behind her ears and smiling softly. She rested her forehead against his.

“I still want to hear you say it,” she said.

He kissed her again.

**Author's Note:**

> my twitter is @aravenlikea if anyone is interested, although tbh it's mostly marvel


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